Kevin Ward Jr. family's lawsuit vs. race driver Tony Stewart over fatal crash

8/20/2019 Kevin Ward Jr. family's lawsuit vs. race driver Tony Stewart over fatal crash

1/14

DO NOTDETACH

PAYOR’S RECEIPTFEE 210.00

Title

of Action or Proceeding to be

TYPED

OR

PRINTED

by applicant

Endorse this

INDEXNUMBER

Su reme Court, Lewis Count Ona r

p y I

CAZM

5-0082;

4819

15PM

Kevin

A.

Ward,

Sr. and Pamela

Ward,

21115113051

2:;21112015

~ ‘

Individually

and as Administrators of

c h L INDEXNUMBER

the

Estate

of Kevin A. Ward, Jr., Deceased

V.

' k

Douglas P. Hanno.

Lewus

Co

Cler

Do no t

write

in this space.

Anthony WayneStewart

Lewis County Clerk’s Office

By


2/14

LEM/LSCOUWCLEM

Receipt

R e c e i p t D a t e :

08/07/2015 02 :41 :15 PM

RECEIPT

2015118051

Re c o r d i n g C l e r k : PS

Cash D r a w e r : CASH3

R e c ' d F r m : ADAM MATTESON,

ESQ.

‘

WARD VS STEWART

Case : CA2015 000280

DOC: C I V I L

INDEX NUMBER

O R P a r t y :

WARD

KEVIN A S R

EE P a r t y : STEWART ANTHONY WAYNE

R e c o r d i n g

Fees

I n d e x

Number

- S t a t e $ 1 6 5 . 0 0

I n d ex Number -

C o u n t y

$ 2 5 . 0 0

Records M anagem ent C o u r t F e e -

C o u n t y

$ 1 . 0 0

R ec or ds M an ag em en t C o u r t F e e - S t a t e

$ 4 . 7 5

C u l t u ra l E d C o u r t

$ 1 4 . 2 5

DOCUMENT TOTAL: - - - >

$ 2 1 0 . 0 0

R e c e i p t

Summary

TOTAL

RECEI PT : - - - >

$ 2 1 0 . 0 0

TOTAL RECEIVED:

- - - - >

$ 2 1 0 . 0 0

CASH BACK: - >

$ 0 . 0 0

PAYMENTS

Chec k F

41743

>

$ 2 1 0 . 0 0

LANIER

LAW F I RM

PO.

Box 232, Lowville,New York

13367

Phone (315)

376-5333

Fax(315)

376-3768


3/14

SUPREME

COURT

OF

THE STATE

OF

NE W YORK

@ @ [P E

COUNTY OF LEWIS

KEVINA. WARD, SR. and PAMELA WARD,

INDIVIDUALLY

AND AS ADMINISTRATORS 4 r, 5.- 0

O F

THE

ESTATE

O F

KEVIN

A .

WARD, JR.,

Index

No.:

C H E I D I . ) -

000935

DECEASED ‘ ,7

Date

Filed: I

J D ,

)

Plaintiffs,

SUMMONS

V.

ANTHONY WAYNE STEWART,

Defendant.

, HLED , ,

To

the

above

named

Defendant:

flZOEAI-fli

ANTHONY WAYNE STEWART Lgvgluseééfifififl‘ggK

Hidden Hollow Ranch

Columbus,

Indiana

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer

the

complaint in

this

action and to serve

a copy of your

answer,

or, if

the

complaint is no t served with

this

summons, to serve a notice of

appearance, on the

Plaintiffs

Attorney s)

within

20

days

after the service of this summons,

exclusive of the

day

of service orwithin 30

days

after the service is complete if this

summons

is

not personally delivered to yo u Within the State of New York).

Y O U ARE HEREBY

NOTIFIED

THAT should

yo u f ail t o answer, a

judgment will

be

taken

against

yo u by default for the relief

demanded

in

the

complaint.

VENUE: Plaintiffs designates Lewis County asthe place of

trial.

The basis of venue is

that

the

Plaintiffs reside in Lewis

County

and were named Co Administrators of Kevin A. Ward

Jr.’s

estate

in

Lewis

County.

Dated: New York, New York

August 4, 2015 THE L

N IE R LA W FIR

W. MARK‘TjANIER,

ESQ.

JUDSON WALTMAN, ESQ.

RICHARDD. MEADOW,

ESQ.

EVA NM. JANUSH,

ESQ.

126 East 56th

Street, 6th

Floor

New York, NY

10022

212) 421-2800

212)

421

2878 D


4/14

SUPREME COURT OF

THE

STATEOF

NEW YORK

COUNTYOFLEWIS

KEVIN

A. WARD,

SR. and

PAMELA WARD,

INDIVIDUALLY AND

AS ADMINISTRATORS Index

No.:

OFTHE ESTATEOFKEVINA. WARD, JR.,

DECEASED COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

v.

ANTHONY WAYNE STEWART,

Defendant.

Plaintiffs Kevin A.

Ward, Sr. and

Pamela Ward, Individually

and

as

Administrators of

the

Estate of

Kevin

A.

Ward,

Jr., Deceased “Plaintiffs” , by and

through their attorneys, The Lanier

Law Firm,

respectfully

allege

at

all times

mentioned

hereinthat:

THE

PARTIES

1. Kevin A. Ward, Sr. and Pamela Ward reside at 3501 Kelpytown Road,

Port Leyden, NY 13433, Lewis County, State of New York, and they have been

appointed Co-Administrators of the Estate of KevinA.

Ward,

Jr. “Plaintiffs” .Plaintiffs

bring

this

action

individually,

and

asadministrators of

the

Estate

of

Kevin

A.

Ward, Jr.,

to

hold

Defendant Anthony Wayne Stewart “Tony Stewart” or “‘Stewart” accountable

for injuringandkillingtheir son onAugust 9, 2014.

2.

Defendant Tony Stewart

is an individual

whose

principal

residence

is

located at

Hidden

Hollow Ranch in Columbus,

Indiana, where

he may be

served

with

process.


5/14

FACTQALALLEQATIONS

QQMMON

TQ

ALL CAUSES

OF

ACTION

3. On

August

9 2014 Tony Stewart

killed

KevinA. Ward Jr. and in doing so Tony

Stewart took

away

a son from Kevinand

Pamela Ward.

4. KevinA. Ward Jr. started

racing

at four years of age. Under the watchful eye of

his

father

and biggest

fan Kevin

Ward Jr.

began racing go karts around small tracks in

Upstate New York. Racing became

young Kevin’s

passion a passion that would stay

with

him for the rest of his short life.

5.

Kevin

A.

Ward Jr. moved

up as he

aged

racing

still bigger and faster

cars

on

bigger and faster tracks. He was successful at every level of competition. At the time of

his death

on

August

9 2014 Kevin was

racing

Empire Super Sprints. Notably in 2010

Kevin was named Rookie of the Year for the Empire

Super Sprint

series.

6.

Super Sprints run

on a

banked

circular track

that

is

one half mile

in

length. The

races

consist of 25

laps

for a total of 12.5 miles.

There

are various elimination heats

before

the final

race which

determines

the winner.

7. Prior to

racing the drivers

agree to certain rules and regulations which

govern

the

sport.

Many

of the

rules

and regulations

exist for

the

safety

of

the

drivers. If there is a

crash

or disabled

car

or

other hazard the drivers are

put under

caution via

both a

yellow

flag

and oral

admonishment

through

a

one way radio headset

whereby race officials can

communicate

with

the

drivers.

Upon

information

and belief there

are

also yellow

lights

located throughout the track’s infield

alerting

drivers of a caution. When under caution

the

drivers

must slow down

and

move away from the

hazard

by

either

moving higher

on

the

track

or

lower

depending on where the

hazard

is located on

the track.


6/14

8 Tony Stewart is an internationally known successful race car driver

Stewart

is one of the foremost stock car

racing drivers

in

the world who

is currently

sponsored by no less than 30major corporations

9 Primarily

Stewart

is a

NASCAR driver who

competes in various

NASCAR

events but has also found success in

Indy racing

Stewart is the only driver in

history

to

win

achampionship in

both

NASCAR

and

lndyCar

10 Unfortunately Stewart is also known for

his

temper

and outbursts

both on

andoff the

race track

11

Despite his

success

at

NASCAR

and

lndyCar

Stewart

still

raced Super

Sprint events on occasion

AUGUST 9

2014

12 On August 9 2014 Tony Stewart

and

Kevin

Ward

Jr raced in

the

final

race of the Super

Sprint event

at Canandaigua

Motorsports

Park in

upstate New York

for

the Super Sprint event

13

During

the

aforesaid final race on August 9 2014

Tony Stewart

killed

Kevin

Ward Jr

14

Prior

to the final

race

on August 9 2014

both Ward and

Stewart

had

to

complete

one

8

lap qualifier

race

15 The final race featured 24

cars

racing

for 25 laps and the

chance

for one of

them to becrowned the

winner

16 Upon information

and

belief in

the

14th lap of the race

between turns

1

and 2 at the apex of

the

turn Tony Stewart’s car made contact with Kevin A Ward Jr ’s

car

causing

Ward

to

crash into the

wall

at

the high side

of

the

track


7/14

17. Upon information and belief

the

track

was already

under

yellow caution

just

prior

to

and/or

before

the

contact referenced

above

that

caused Ward

to

crash

into

the

wall

due to a disabledvehicle in turn

number

3.

18.

While

the race was

under

acaution Kevin

Ward

Jr. exited

his vehicle

and

made

his

way

a short distance down

the

track

on

foot. While the race was under

a

caution

flag

13other cars passed

Ward

on the low side of

the

track

before

Stewart

made

his way

all

the way around the

track

to

the point where

he

was

approaching

Kevin

A.

Ward Jr. and 6 cars safely

passed

Ward while he was standing on the

track.

19.

Unlike

the

other

race

car

drivers who

had

just passed by

Kevin

A. Ward

J

r. instead

of going

low

on

the

track

per

the

regulations of

the

event Stewart

came up

the

track directly toward Kevin Ward Jr.

20. As

Stewart’s car

approached Ward

who was

standing on the

track

Stewart climbed

up gunned his

engine

causing

his 700 horsepower

vehicle

to slide

and

strike Ward

with

his right rear

tire

crushing Ward and

flinging

his

body

an estimated 25

feet

down

the

track.

21. When

Stewart

ran

over

Kevin A. Ward Jr. Ward suffered massive

injuries including blunt force trauma to his chest

resulting

in a transected aorta

transected cervical

spinal cord

crushed

ribs and

a hemothorax. Tragically

these

injuries

proved fatal.

22.

Upon

information

and

belief

all

other

drivers

who

passed

by

Ward

while

hewas standing on the

track

easily were able to see and avoidWard.

23. Defendant Stewart is an expert race car

driver

with

supreme

skill and

control over his

vehicle.


8/14

24. Defendant Stewart

could

have easily acted reasonably

and

with prudence

to avoid striking

Ward

just as

all

other

drivers

had done as

they

passed Ward

during

the

yellow caution flag.

25. Stewart

acted with

disregard for

Ward’s

life

and

safety by driving his

vehicle

in a manner that would terrorize Ward and thereafter strike severely injure and

kil l

Ward.

26. Stewart’s conduct by gunning his

engine

on a

track that

had been under

caution for anextended periodof time proximately caused the harm suffered anddeathof

Plaintiffs’ decedent herein.

27. At

all

times herein Defendant Stewart was engaged in the

business

of

beingaprofessional race

car

driver.

28.

At all times herein Defendant

Stewart

was gifted with unique race car

driving

skills

and

possessed

extreme skill and control

over his

race car.

29. At

all

times herein Defendant agreed to abide by the customs and

norms

of race car

driving

which

included

how

to prudently

and safely operate

a race car during

ayellow caution.

30.

Defendant Stewart

committed

acts of

omission

and commission

which

collectively and

severally constituted negligence

and/or

recklessness.

31.

Defendant Stewart’s negligence

and/or

recklessness was a proximate

cause

of

the

death

personal

injuries

and other

damages

suffered

by

Decedent

and

his

Estate.

32.

The

negligence

and/or recklessness of the Defendant Tony Stewart and

his

violation of reasonable and prudent

standards

of a race car driver standards that were


9/14

followed by all other

passing

drivers caused Stewart to run over

Ward and

resulted in

Decedent Kevin A. Ward Jr. to undergo terror before being severely injured and

suffering extreme pain andultimatelydeath.

33. The personal

injuries

and death sustained by Ward were caused solely by

the

negligence

and/or

recklessness of the

Defendant

and

without any

negligence on

the

part of the Plaintiff

Decedent

contributing thereto.

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION: WRONGFUL DEATH

34. The

allegations

set forth

in

paragraphs

1 through 33 of

this Complaint are

re-alleged

and

incorporatedby

reference

asif

fully

set

forth

herein.

35. On August 9

2014

Decedent

Kevin

A. Ward

Jr.

was adriver in the

Super

Sprint

race.

36.

As a result of

the

aforementioned acts and omissions of Defendant

Stewart

Decedent

Ward suffered

a

wrongful

death

when Stewart

accelerated

during

a

caution thereby

striking

injuring

and

killing

Ward in the incident complained of herein.

37. At the time of his death Decedent Kevin A. Ward Jr. suffered serious

injuries to various parts of his body and suffered great pain and anguish in

body

and

mind from the time

of

the

occurrence to

the time

of

his death.

38.

At the

time

of his death

KevinWard

Jr.

was

20 years of

age.

39.

Prior to

his

death Decedent Kevin Ward

Jr. was

an able bodied man

who devoted himself to

the

welfare and comfort of

his

family who contributed

substantially to

the

comfort

support

and

wellbeing

of

his adult parents who worked

regularly

for

his

father’s

business

and

who but for being

killed

would have one day

taken

over his

father’s

business.


10/14

40.

At all times

herein the

Plaintiffs

were

father

and mother

of

Decedent

Kevin A. Ward

Jr.

Plaintiffs are/were entitled to the

services

and society of the

Decedent

Kevin

A. Ward Jr.

Plaintiffs are/were

responsible

for the care maintenance

andmedicalexpenses of the Decedent KevinA. Ward Jr.

41. That by virtue of the

foregoing

Decedent’s next of kin have incurred

funeral and burial

expenses have been

deprived

of

the

support of

the

Decedent deprived

from

his earnings have

been deprived

of the

pecuniary value

of

the comfort

companionship

services nurturing love

guidance influence advice and affection of

the Decedent all

of which

damages

far

exceedthe

jurisdictional limitsof all

lower

courts.

SECOND CAUSE OFACTION:

TERROR

PAIN AND

SUFFERING

PRIOR

TO

DEATH

42. The allegations set forth in paragraphs 1 through 41 of this Complaint are

re alleged and incorporatedby reference asif fully set forth

herein.

43.

That by reason of the

aforesaid

occurrence

and

the injuries

which

he

sustained

Decedent

KevinA. Ward

Jr.

was

caused

to

suffer grievous pain and

agony

and

mental anguish

from the

time of the accident

until the time

of

his

death

which

resulted

from the injuries

he sustained.

44. Had Decedent

KevinA.

Ward

Jr.

survived the

subject incident he

would

have

been

entitled to

bring

and action for damages and

such

action has survived his

death.

45. That

by

virtue

of the

foregoing the Decedent

experienced

extreme terror

and excruciating pain and suffering

prior

to his

death

all to

his damage

in a sum

far

in

excess

of the jurisdictional limits of lower courts.


11/14

THIRD CAUSE

OF ACTION: INTENTIONAL/RECKLESS

CONDUCT

46. The

allegations

set forth

in

paragraphs

1

through

45 of

this Complaint are

re

alleged

and incorporated by reference asif

fillly

set forth

herein.

47.

That the conduct

of

the Defendant

of sliding his car/climbing

upwards

towards Decedent and hitting the gas despite the fact that there was yellow

caution was

wanton

reckless

and malicious and that such

action

proximately caused

severe physical

injury and ultimately

the death

of KevinA. Ward Jr.

48. That by Virtue of

the

foregoing the Decedent experienced extreme terror

and

excruciating

pain

and

suffering prior to

his

death

all to

his damage

in a

sum

far

in

excess

of the jurisdictional limits of lower courts.

FOURTH CAUSE OFACTION: GROSS NEGLIGENCE

49.

The

allegations

set forth

in paragraphs 1through 47 of this

Complaint are

re allegedand

incorporatedby reference asif fully set forth herein.

50. Defendant Stewart had

a duty to

operate his vehicle

in a reasonably

safe

manner particularly

during

ayellow caution.

51. Defendant Stewart

breached

his duty to operate

his vehicle

in a reasonably

safe manner by

wantonly

willfully

and recklessly

driving his

vehicle

purposefully

gunning his engine

While

under

a

caution sliding his

vehicle at Decedent Kevin A.

Ward Jr.

52.

It

was

reasonably foreseeably

that

by failing to

operate

his

vehicle in a

safe

manner and by failing to steer

clear

of Decedent

Kevin

A. Ward Jr. and

hitting

the

gas on a 700 horsepower sprint car Defendant Stewart could strike injure and possibly

ki l l KevinA. Ward Jr.


12/14

53. Defendant

Stewart’s

wanton willful and reckless

disregard

for the

safety

of Decedent Kevin A. Ward J

r.

and in particular

Stewart’s failure

to steer clear of Ward

while

all

other drivers remained

a safe

distance

from Decedent and

hitting the

gas on a

700 horsepower sprint car proximately caused the untimely death of Kevin A. Ward Jr.

54.

As a result of Defendant Stewart’s

gross

negligence and

wanton willful

and reckless disregard for the safety of KevinA. Ward

Jr.

Decedent and his Estate have

suffered

actual

damages.

55. The clear

and convincing evidence

in

this

case

will

demonstrate

that

Defendant

acted

with

gross

negligence in

that when

viewed objectively

from

the

standpoint of the

Defendant

at

the

time of the occurrence there was an extreme degree of

risk

considering the probability and magnitude of potential

harm

to others and of

which

Defendant

had

actual

subjective

awareness

of the

risk involved but

nevertheless

proceeded with indifference to

the

rights safety or welfare of others including

the

Plaintiff. Therefore punitive damages are sought and should be assessed against

Defendant.

WHEREFORE the

Plaintiffs

as Administrators demand judgment against

the

Defendant together with the costs

and

disbursements of this action as follows:

A. Uponthe first

cause

of action judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs in a sum

adequate to compensate

the

next-of-kin for their damages

resulting

from

Decedent s

wrongfill

death;

B. Upon

the

second

cause

of action judgment in favor of

the

Plaintiffs in a

sum

adequate to compensate the estate for the

conscious pain

and

suffering and terror undergone by the Decedent prior to his death;


13/14

C. Upon the third cause of action,judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs in a sum

adequate

to

account for Defendant’s

intentional/recklessness

conduct; and

D. Uponthe fourth

cause

of action,judgment in favor of

the

Plaintiffs in a

sum adequate to

account for

Defendant’s intentional/recklessness

conduct.

Dated: Ne w York, Ne w York

August 4,

2015

T H E L A N I E RL A W F I , P L L C

\X/ MA R K LANIER, ESQ.

JUDSON

WALTMAN,

ESQ.

RICHARDD. MEADOW,

ESQ.

EVAN M. JANUSH, ESQ.

126 East

56th

Street, 6th

Floor

NewYork, NY 10022

212)421-2800

212)421-2878 D

wrnléblanierlawfirmcom

] [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

10

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Kevin Ward Jr. family's lawsuit vs. race driver Tony Stewart over fatal crash

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Transcript of Kevin Ward Jr. family's lawsuit vs. race driver Tony Stewart over fatal crash